Red and Black game may help answer questions as Aztecs move to improve on their defensive strength

There are two ways you can evaluate San Diego State’s defense as the Aztecs finish up the spring season with today’s 1 p.m. Red and Black game on the SDSU Sports Deck.

On one hand, the cornerback situation is still cause for concern.

With last year’s starters, Leon McFadden and Josh Wade, gone, J.J. Whittaker, Pierre Romain and Mahbu Keels have rotated through first team reps this spring, but clearly haven’t done enough to solidify themselves as the solution to SDSU’s problems.

On the other hand, all cornerback issues aside, the Aztecs return nine starters from a squad that finished the season ranked 39th nationally in total defense.

The defense has looked good in practice and could well be the Aztecs’ biggest asset in 2013.

Even without Darius Guillory — who’s missed spring due to unspecified team rules violations — the safeties are a veteran group led by All-Mountain West second-teamer Nat Berhe, who could merit some consideration as an NFL prospect this time next year.

The same goes for the defensive line, where Cody Galea and Jordan Thomas return at defensive end, with big Sam Meredith anchoring the middle.

“Personally, I think we feel more chemistry as a defense,” said Thomas, a senior. “Even in 2011, a lot of these people played then too.

“I feel like we’ve solidified as a defense: how we talk, how we communicate, how we get things done.”

With unproven cornerbacks, it’s become more important than ever for the Aztecs to have a dominating pass rush.

SDSU struggled to establish a solid pass rush through the first third of 2012, but there’s reason to believe they might not have those issues this season.

“Last year, at the start of the season, we were very stagnant in the pass rush, and as the season got on, we were a better and better pass rush,” said Thomas, who finished with 5.5 tackles for loss, and one quarterback sack.

The turning point came the week before the Sept. 29 Fresno State game, when Galea was named the starter at defensive end over Dontrell Onuoha and retained the position for the remainder of the season.

That’s when the D-line started to jell.

Now, Thomas, Meredith and Galea have played enough games together that they’ve developed an intimate understanding of each other’s tendencies.

“We know exactly how to run things, how stuff is supposed to go,” Thomas said. “There’s no real learning curve anymore, as far as how certain guys would take a certain step on a stunt. That helps a lot.”

With so much experience on defense, defensive coordinator and head coach Rocky Long has been able to add some new things to the playbook this spring — a far cry from last fall, when he had to simplify the defense to help his guys along.

For instance, the Aztecs put in a new blitz at practice on Wednesday.

“I think that other than at (cornerback), we’re very confident with what we’re doing,” Long said. “We’ll put some new things in, and we’re able to do it now because they understand the defense.”